The Faculty: Creative Writing with Bethany Dawson (6 week course)

Do you want to write your stories? Not necessarily your life story but the stories that run through your head, shaped by your unique experiences and the people you have met along the way. Perhaps it is an idea for a play but you can’t seem to work out its beginning, middle and end. You might have written a novel but it lacks pace or feels disjointed. It might be an autobiography in need of structure and a good edit. You may not have written anything but it’s something you’ve always wanted to try. Whatever your background, this is a course that will equip you with some basic tools and create space for you to write your stories.

Course Overview

Week One: In our introductory week we will discuss the importance of developing a habit of writing. There will be an opportunity to set you intention for the course and lots of exercises to get the creative juices flowing.

Week Two: We will discuss ways of setting the scene for your piece of work.

Week Three: We will deal with how to write believable characters with which readers can identify, and dialogue that is engaging and realistic.

Week Four: This week we will deal with structure and how to craft a story with a beginning, middle and end that is well paced and holds the reader’s attention.

Week Five: Starting a story is one thing but many writers struggle to know where to put the final full stop. This week we’ll look at how to bring your piece to a conclusion.

Week Six: For our final week we will learn about the importance of editing and how to do it.

Bethany Dawson completed a Master of Philosophy in Creative Writing at Trinity College, Dublin where she was picked up by her agent and began writing in earnest. Her first novel, My Father’s House, was published in 2013. She works as a freelance script writer and is completing her second novel. Bethany currently lives in Hillsborough with her husband and three children, but has spent time living in both Zimbabwe and South Africa.